| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
7 May 2009 : Column 330W—continued
Courts: Video Conferencing
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the (a) efficiency savings and (b) savings in time for (i) police officers and (ii) others arising from the virtual court pilot at Camberwell Green; when he plans to initiate the second pilot site in north Kent; whether a timetable has been established for the national implementation of virtual courts; and when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the law on the right of the defendant to consent to attendance at a virtual court. [272995]
Bridget Prentice: A business case for virtual courts was developed based on the experience of the prototype run in London in 2007. This suggested that a pilot linking Camberwell Green magistrates court and 15 police stations could yield benefits of £2.2 million per annum for the Metropolitan Police, National Offender Management Service and Crown Prosecution Service. This includes efficiency savings (for example reduced prisoner transport costs) and savings in staff time for police officers and other staff in the criminal justice system.
The costs and benefits of virtual courts will be tested fully in further pilots which are due to commence at the first sites in London later this month and last for 12 months. The pilot in North Kent is due to commence at the end of June 2009.
No timetable has been established for the national roll out of virtual courts. The pilots will be evaluated thoroughly and the findings will inform decisions on wider roll-out.
The Coroners and Justice Bill currently before Parliament contains provisions removing the requirement for defendant consent to participate in virtual courts.
Crown Dependencies
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many British citizens have taken up residence in (a) Guernsey, (b) Jersey and (c) the Isle of Man in the last five years. [272675]
Mr. Wills: The information sought is not held in the form requested. The following details have been obtained from the Governments of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
(a) Guernsey does not hold any accurate data on the subject.
(b) Jersey does not collect information on the nationality of persons who choose to take up residence.
(c) In the Isle of Man, the 2006 census recorded that 7,406 British citizens who were not born in the Isle of Man came to the island to live between 2001 and 2006 and were still living on the island on census day.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many British citizens have taken up residence in Alderney and Sark in the last five years. [272676]
Mr. Wills: The information sought is not held in the form requested. Details were sought from the Governments of Alderney and Sark but such information is not collected by the islands.
Crown Dependencies: Microgeneration
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which Crown Dependencies micro-generation electricity production schemes are in operation. [272633]
Mr. Wills: The Crown Dependencies are self governing dependencies of the Crown and responsible for their own internal affairs, including the generation of electricity. While this is not a matter in which the Ministry of Justice is involved we understand that the Isle of Man has a small hydro generation facility and that Guernsey and Jersey do not currently run such schemes.
Crown Dependencies: Renewable Energy
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much electricity is generated from renewable resources in each of the Crown Dependencies. [272632]
Mr. Wills: The Crown Dependencies are self governing dependencies of the Crown and have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems. The Ministry of Justice does not keep information on the amount of electricity generated from renewable resources in the Crown Dependencies.
Crown Dependencies: Tourism
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of (a) Guernsey's and (b) Jersey's gross domestic product was generated by the tourism sector in each of the last five years. [272674]
Mr. Wills: The information sought is not held in the form requested, but the following details have been obtained from the Governments of Guernsey and Jersey.
(a) Guernsey does not hold specific figures on the contribution of "tourism" to gross domestic product, nor any figures that take multiplier effects into account. However, the percentage of gross domestic product generated by the hostelry and recreation sectors is regarded as a good representation of the contribution of tourism to GDP. The percentages for the last five years for which figures are available are:
| Percentage | |
(b) Jersey does not measure its economy in terms of gross domestic product but of gross value added (GVA). There is no accurate data available on the contribution of the "tourism sector".
Departmental Air Conditioning
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of his Department's buildings are equipped with air conditioning systems with greater than 250kW of output; how many of these systems have been inspected under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each inspection report. [272187]
Maria Eagle: The number of departmental buildings we currently have information for that are equipped with air conditioning systems with greater than 250kW of output is 37 and the number of these systems that have been inspected under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 is 35. We are still gathering information for Her Majesty's Prison Service, HMCS and Ministry of Justice HQ Core Estate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this information is received. To place copies of inspection reports in the Library would incur disproportionate cost as the Ministry of Justice has responsibility for over 100 buildings.
Drugs: Sentencing
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of sentence for those sentenced to immediate custody for possession of cannabis was in each year since 1997. [272026]
Maria Eagle: The available information is shown in the following table. Figures for year 2008 will be available towards the end of 2009.
| Average custodial sentence length of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for possession( 1) of cannabis, 1997 to 2007 | |
| Average custodial sentence length (months) | |
| (1) Having possession of a controlled drug (cannabis) under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 sec 5(2) [Class ‘C’ drug] as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec 157. Cannabis use to be classified as class ‘B’ before it was reclassified as class ‘C’ in 29 January 2004. Notes: The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice | |
Jersey
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the purpose was of the visit by Ministers of his Department to Jersey on 17 April; whom Ministers met during that visit; and what matters were discussed at those meetings. [272536]
Mr. Wills: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Lord Bach) visited Jersey on 17 April. This was his first visit since being appointed Minister with responsibility for the Crown Dependencies and an opportunity to meet key figures in the Government of Jersey. He met the Chief Minister, Deputy Minister, Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff. The matters for discussion included the G20 summit, Tax Information Exchange Agreements, the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill, and the Health Foods and Medicines Directives.
Jersey: Dietary Supplements
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent information is on the likely timetable for the implementation by Jersey of (a) the EU Food Supplements Directive and (b) the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation. [272537]
Mr. Wills: Our most recent information on these matters is as follows:
Jersey Health Protection is continuing to work on law drafting instructions, for the Food Supplements Directive and the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulations although law drafting time has yet to be allocated in the legislation programme.
The Ministry of Justice will continue to work with Jersey to progress the implementation of these two matters.
Land Registry: Fraud
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to prevent the unauthorised amendment for the purposes of fraud of house ownership information on the HM Land Registry website. [273350]
Mr. Wills: It is not possible for an amendment to be made to the register of title through Land Registry's website. The Find a Property service, formerly known as Land Register Online, which is available through the website only allows users to view or obtain information, for example, a copy of the register for a particular property. This information is also available to any person who applies to Land Registry by post or in person. The Land Register has been open to the public since 1990.
Land Registry views registration fraud very seriously. It has had a number of measures to help combat fraud in place for some time, including identity verification for the parties to registration applications and service of notice on property owners in certain circumstances. It also constantly keeps its anti-fraud strategy under review and changes its procedures as appropriate to meet developing threats.
Legal Advice and Assistance: Travelling People
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 667W, on legal advice and assistance: travelling people, what the location of each planning application handled by each local authority was; and whether the representation was in relation to (a) a new planning application, (b) retrospective planning permission, (c) planning enforcement and (d) another matter; [272390]
(2) what the (a) type of planning inquiry and (b) location of each development was in respect of each case in which funding was provided. [273261]
Mr. Malik: The Ministry of Justice does not record the locations involved in legal aid applications for representation at planning inquiries as a matter of course. It is possible that by giving details of those locations, the identities of individual legal aid clients would be revealed. As these are personal data, they are not routinely disclosed.
Applications for exceptional funding for legal representation at planning inquiries usually concern an appeal against a local authority's rejection of an application for planning permission and may also pertain to enforcement. MOJ does not record applications for exceptional funding for planning inquiries by any sub-categories.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 667W, on legal advice and assistance: travelling people, what the cost to the public purse of the grant through the exceptional funding scheme was. [272391]
Mr. Malik: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 2 February 2009, Official Report, column 917W.
The total cost of exceptional funding grants to Travellers in the financial year 2008-09 remains the same as the amount stated in my earlier answer, as no further grants were made before the end of the financial year.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 667W, on legal advice and assistance: travelling people, how much grant funding was given in each case. [273260]
Mr. Malik: The grant of funding in each case was:
| Financial year 2007-08 | |
| £ | |
| (1) The names of these authorities have been confirmed since the initial question was answered. | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |